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In one of the
earlier web pages in this series I listed the gifts God gave us when we are
baptized into Christ (Romans 6:3). I list them here so we may enlarge upon
them:
The forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).
The Holy
Spirit brings spiritual life to us (Romans 8:11).
With
spiritual life comes JOY (Acts 8:39), PEACE (Phillipians 4:7), LOVE
(Ephesians 3:19), and HOPE (Colossians 1:27).
God is rich
in other ways and he shares those with us:
He is rich in
grace (Ephesians 1:7).
He has enough
grace for everyone (Titus 2:11).
He is rich in
mercy (Ephesians 2:4) and we all need that.
God gave His
son for us (Romans 8:32).
God’s son is
the cause of our salvation (Hebrews 5:8,9).
And through
HIM we have all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3).
How do we
show our appreciation to God for all of these?
By loving him
(1 John 4:19).
By keeping
His commandments (John 14:15).
By being rich
in good works (1 Timothy 6:17-19).
While I was
in college the local preacher at Big Spring, Texas found a young man, a few
years older than me, who had fallen away from Christ. He led the young man
to be restored to the Lord. On my visits home I got acquainted with this
young man. After his restoration to Christ, he was one of the most intense
young men I ever met about how much he appreciated Christ dying for his
sins. He told me that he could not read about Christ dying for him without
crying. His intensity about all of his Christian duty endeared him to all
who knew him.
I cannot
recall his name, but I will never forget his sincerity. This young man had
grown up and had been baptized in a small congregation, in a small town in
East Texas. When the members of that church heard about how dedicated he was
to Christ they asked him to come home and preach for them. He had never been
trained for that work, but what he lacked in skill he made up for in his
sincere appreciation for what God had done for him. The first winter he was
home he became ill with pneumonia, and before anything could be done for him
he died. He left one memory behind that those who knew him would never
forget: his love for God and Christ, and what they did to save him from his
sins. I will never forget him for that quality in his life.
Harvey
Childress, servant of Jesus Christ |
